Nut-lock.



' No. 740,056; PATENTBD SEPT. 29, 1903.

PI GI NUT LOOK.

V A r r L 1 o A T 1 o x r 1 L n n A P n 1 1 1 9 o a. oooooo 1..

Fran]:

RNEY v iatented September 1905.

PATENT QFFIQE- FRANK G. STARK, OF NEW YORIQN. Y.

NUT-LOCK.

SPECIFICATRJLT forming part of Letters Patent No. 740,056, dated September 29, 1903.

Application filed April 11, 1903.

nut-locks; and it consists in the novel features and construction hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The invention pertains more especially to a novel segmental spirally-disposed springclip to be made from a rod of crucible-steel and to be applied laterallyupon the bolt up against the nut, and among the specific fea'- tures of the invention it may be mentioned that the nut-lock is made from a novel form of rod or wire andthat the. ends of the nutor. other suitable tool.

will not lose its position on a bolt and will lock are'reversely constructed, so that one end on applying the nut-lock to position will engage the bolt at one side ofits center and that the other end thereof will, upon pressure being applied to the bow of the lock, be caused to slide around upon the bolt until the entire length of the segment is upon the bolt and firmly claspingthe same. In its preferred embodiment the nut-lock of my invention is not intended to be screwed upon the bolt, but to be applied in a transverse direction directly to the bolt and up against the. nut, and the nut-look illustrated in'the drawings may be thus applied by first placing the nut-lock against the bolt and then striking the bow portion of the same with a hammer hold the nut firmly in place, the lock may be readily removedfrom the bolt by driving it outwardly at one end therefrom. Aside'from providing an efficient nut-lock my purpose is to so construct thenut-look that it may be quickly applied to and removed from a bolt by means of ordinary tools, and a further purpose is to provide a form of rod or wire for the nut-lock which will be capable of taking the proper temper and of resisting any strains likely in this class of nut-locks of causing the nut-lock to fracture or break on a line radiating from the center of the bolt.

The invention will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter present- While the nut-lock Serial No. 152,104. (No modeL) ed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a section of a bolt equipped with a nut-lock embodying myinvention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of same. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 represent the several stages of the application' of, the nut-lock to a bolt, the latter being shown in transverse section, and Fig. 3 illustrating the position of the nut-lock when it is merely set upon the bolt by hand, and Fig. 4. illustrating the nut-lock as having been, by the blow of the hammer or otherwise, caused at its longer or sliding end to,

pass partly around thebolt on the line of the thread thereof, while Fig. 5 illustrates the nut-lock in its completely-applied position. Fig. 6 is a detached side elevation of a modified'form of nut-lock embracing a part of my invention, and Fig. 7 is a vertical section of same on the dotted line 7 7 of Fig. 6.

In the drawings 10, designates a usual bolt, 11 a nut thereon, and 12 the nut-lock of my invention.

The nut-lock 12 is formed from a rod or wire of crucible steel of novel outline in cross-section, the said rod or wire having an outer broad transverse portion or section 13 and an inner tapered portion or section 14, the latter being set inwardly from the side edges of the portion 13, as shown in'Fig. 7, and forming a conical rib adapted to engage the thread of a bolt. The reason for the specialformation of the rod or wire from which the nut-look is formed is to prevent the nutlock when in use from splitting open as well as to increase the efficiency and longevity of thenut-lock in other respects. The nut'lock of the transverse form illustrated will take the requisite temper and not split open, and this is due partly to the broad outer portion 13 and partly to the fact that the inner portion or conical rib 14 is set inwardly from ner conical rib portion or section 14, the latter at its side edges being set inwardly from the outer edges of the said portion 13.

The nut-lock shown in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, comprises a bow or segmental part 15 and an outwardly-extending tail part 16, turning outwardly on a grad ually-curved line from one end of the part 15, thereby at said end afiording a curved surface which will not bite into the metal of the bolt, but will be capable without undue resistance of sliding over the same, while at its other end said nut-lock is cut ofi to form a dog 17, adapted upon applying the nut-lock to a bolt to firmly engage the metal above the center of the bolt and maintain its position as a. fulcrum while the nut-lock as a whole is sliding axially and spirally around the bolt, the sliding action of the nut-lock being confined to the left-hand portion of the same looking at the drawings, the dog 17 maintaining its hold and position where first placed and the remaining portion of the nut-lock sliding toward the right and downwardly around the bolt, as may be fully understood from an inspection of Figs. 3, 4, and 5, illustrating this special action of the nut-lock in its application to abolt. One end 17 of the nut-lock is therefore a dog end, and

the other end of the nut-lock is oppositely constructed to said dog end, so that it may slide around the bolt, and this sliding end of the nut-lock maybe formed by providing said end with the gradually-outturned tail 16, as shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, or by beveling oif said end of the nut-lock in the manner indicated at 18 in Fig. 6, this bevel 18 being opposite to that of the other or dog end of the nut-lock and permitting its end of the nutlock to slide around upon the bolt in the manner represented in Figs. 3, 4, and 5.

The nut-lock shown in Fig. 6 differs from the nut-lock illustrated in Fig. 3 only in the absence of the outwardly-turned tail portion 16, and in both constructions the normal or initial diameter of the bow portion of the nutlock is less than the diameter of the bolt to which it is to be applied, and in both instances the nut-lock is spirally disposed, as more clearly represented in Fig. 2, so that it may follow the thread of the bolt and exert its entire force in a direction inwardly against the bolt. While, as may be observed, I do not confine the invention to the employment of the tail portion 16, yet in the preferred construction of nut-lock said portion 16 will be employed, for the reason that the said portion 16 enables the nut-lock to be more readily handled and applied and in addition furnishes an outwardly-extending arm against which force may be applied for the removal of the nut-lock, and it may be here stated that during the removal of the nut-lock the dog end 17thereof will retain its fixed position, while when pressure is applied to the other end of the nut-lock the latter will, starting from the position in which it is shown in Fig. 5, first move upwardly around the bolt, as shown in Fig. 4, and then upwardly from the bolt, as shown in Fig. 3, when it may be picked off the bolt by hand. The dog end 17 of the nut-lock thus aids in the application and removal of the nut-lock and in addition increases the efliciency of the nut-lock. It will be seen on reference to Fig. 2 that the dog end 17 of the nut-lock is the rear end thereof and is up against the nut, while the sliding or tail end is in advance of the nut and may be termed the front end of the nutlock. By so constructing the nut-lock that it is to be applied in the mannerhereinbefore explained I materially lessen the danger of fracturing the rib of the nut-lock during its application and render it convenient to apply and remove the nut-lock without injury to the bolt. The dog end 17 of the lock is not only adapted to engage the bolt, but at its side edge adjacent to the nut forms a sharp angle, as at 20, engaging the nut and against which the nut must press under any action tending to cause it to turn outwardly on the bolt, and I have found that any pressure of the nut against this edge 20 of the lock actsnot only to press the rib 14 more firmly into the thread of the bolt, but if the pressure is sufficiently great to force said edge into the surface of the nut, the construction in its entirety thus affording a nut-lock of great efficiency and reliability. There is a great advantage in having the dog end or blunt end 17 of the lock rather than the tail or longer end 16 thereof up against the nut, because if the portion 16 were at the rear end of the lock the pressure of the nut against its outer end edge would tend to force the lock out of the thread of the bolt, and this result does not occur when the dog end 17 is the rear end of the lock and takes the pressure of the nut at a point close to the surface of the bolt, as it does in my construction, because at this end 17 there is no outwardly-extending part or member to take the pressure of the nut or to interfere with that pressure being exerted directly against the edge 20 of the lock close to the bolt. A further feature of advantage is secured by beveling ed the rear end of the look, as shown, because with this construction the pressure of the nut against the lock is at a point inward from the extreme outer edge of said rear end, and when thus applied said pressure is far less able to move the lock outwardly from or axially around the bolt than would be the case if said pressure were applied at the extreme end of the lock.

The invention is not in every instance to be confined to the special transverse formation shown of the rod or Wire from which the lock is to be formed, since many of the important advantages of my invention may be realized it the said rod or wire is in cross-section substantially conical, this being a form of nut-look wire or rod known to the prior art. The nut-lock of my invention may be termed a split-spring ring nut-lock, made from a wire rod and thereafter tempered; but in its preferred construction it is, as shown in the drawings, so separated at its ends that it may be applied transversely to the bolt up against the nut without the aid of special tools, one of said ends being a dog end to fixedly engage the bolt and the other a sliding end to, during the application of the nutlock, work around the bolt.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A split-spring-ring nut-lock comprising the steel rod having the broad transverse outer portion 13 and the inner rib portion 14 at its side edges set inwardly from the side edges of said portion 13; substantially as set forth.

2. The spring-steel nut-lock adapted to be ciently separated to enable the lock to be applied transversely upon the bolt and comprising the rod having the broad transverse outer portion 13 and the inner rib portion 14 at its'side edges set inwardly from the side edges of said outer portion 13; substantially as set forth.

4. The spring-steel nut-lock adapted to be applied transversely upon the bolt and having the dog at one end and at the other end the outwardly-curved tail portion, said lock also having the broad transverse outer portion 13 and inner rib portion 14 at its edges set inwardly from the side edges of said portion 13; substantially as set forth.

5. The spring-steel nut-lock havingits ends sufficiently separated to enable the lock to be applied transversely upon the bolt and comprising the rod having an inner conical portion to engage the thread of the bolt and a rear end to be engaged by the nut and which is cut ofi on a bevel so as to secure the contact of the nut therewith at a point inward from the extreme outer edge of said rear end; substantially as set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 9th dayof April, A. D. 1903.

FRANK e. STARK.

Witnesses:

OHAs. O. GILL, ARTHUR MARION. 

